SCOOPS: NOW A MAJOR MOVIE ON NETFLIX

by Sam McAlister

Overview

The secrets of a former Newsnight producer who found her way to Buckingham Palace

'A cracking read' Lorraine Kelly

‘Riveting’ Sunday Telegraph

‘Behind every great interview is a great booker – Sam McAlister is one of the unsung heroes of television news’ Piers Morgan

Sam McAlister is the woman who clinched the 2019 interview with Prince Andrew, described as ‘a plane crashing into an oil tanker, causing a tsunami, triggering a nuclear explosion’. She is many things beside: the first in her family to go to university; a trained barrister; a single mum; a master of persuasion. In her former BBC colleagues’ words, she was the ‘booker extraordinaire’, responsible for many of Newsnight’s exclusives over the past decade, including Stormy Daniels, Sean Spicer, Brigitte Höss, Steven Seagal, Mel Greig and Julian Assange.

After twelve years producing content for Newsnight, McAlister reflects with candour on her experience, sharing not just the secrets of how the best news gets made, but also the changes to the BBC, the future of ‘mainstream media’ in the age of clickbait and the role of power and privilege in shaping our media landscape.

Now a major motion picture featuring Gillian Anderson, Billie Piper, Keeley Hawes and Rufus Sewell, Scoops is a backstage pass to the most unforgettable journalism of our times.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780861545360
Publisher:	Oneworld Publications
Publication date:	09/12/2023
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	451,197
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.80(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Sam McAlister was the first in her family to go to university, before training to be a criminal barrister. As a single mum, she decided her real passion was in news. Now BAFTA-nominated for her work with BBC Newsnight, McAlister’s hard-won exclusives have shaped the public conversation.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

1 From Paxman to McAlpine 15

2 Unknowable Fathers: Brigitte Höss 33

3 Moral Duty: Paul Flowers 53

4 Broken Blonde: Mel Greig 77

5 Women and Girls: Gina and Amanda 101

6 Cat and Mouse: Julian Assange 123

7 Celebrity Culture: Amy Schumer 139

8 The Trump Years - Fake News and Impartiality Woes: Comey, Spicer and Daniels 161

9 Walkouts: Steven Seagal 195

10 Prince Andrew: The Negotiations 207

11 Prince Andrew: No Sweat 233

12 Prince Andrew: Aftershock 261

Epilogue 273

Acknowledgements 277

Editorial Reviews

‘McAlister’s insights into why some interviews make compelling viewing while others, despite brilliant inquisitors and intriguing guests, fall flat is one reason why Scoops should be required reading not just for media insiders but for anyone thinking about a media appearance.’

Times Higher Education

‘A good television news interview requires organisational skill and news instinct, not just from the interviewer, but from the producers who support them. Sam McAlister clearly has both in abundance... The book sheds light on the often unacknowledged efforts of producers, as well as on life at the BBC.’

TLS

‘Sam delivers where others fail. She has a zinger of a story to tell.’

Huw Edwards

‘Sam McAlister is a force of nature – she’s relentlessly pursued scoops for her entire career. And this is the book to prove it.’

Steph McGovern

‘Even though we know what happened, McAlister’s eye-witness description of the royal car-crash retains the power to shock... riveting.’

Sunday Telegraph

'A cracking read' Lorraine

‘Riveting’ Sunday Telegraph

‘Behind every great interview is a great booker – Sam McAlister is one of the unsung heroes of television news’ Piers Morgan

She is the woman who clinched the 2019 interview with Prince Andrew, described as ‘a plane crashing into an oil tanker, causing a tsunami, triggering a nuclear explosion’. She is many things beside: the first in her family to go to university; a trained barrister; a single mum; a master of persuasion. In her former BBC colleagues’ words, she was the ‘booker extraordinaire’, responsible for many of Newsnight’s exclusives over the past decade, including Stormy Daniels, Sean Spicer, Brigitte Höss, Steven Seagal, Mel Greig and Julian Assange.

After 12 years producing content for Newsnight, McAlister reflects with candour on her experience, sharing not just the secrets of how the best news gets made, but also the changes to the BBC, the future of ‘mainstream media’ in the age of clickbait and the role of power and privilege in shaping our media landscape.

This is a backstage pass to the most unforgettable journalism of our times.

From the Publisher

2022-08-12
A former producer and booker for the BBC’s Newsnight takes us behind the camera.

In 2019, McAlister succeeded in booking an interview with Prince Andrew, which proved to be an unmitigated disaster for the bumbling interviewee. In her candid memoir, the author chronicles how she landed that interview and dishes about other big names she locked in during her tenure on the program. Known for her tenacity in securing talent, McAlister joined Newsnight in 2011, when Jeremy Paxman, known for his severe interrogations of politicians and other newsmakers, was still the presenter. Paxman left in 2014, and his replacements, Evan Davis and Emily Maitlis, employed a more discursive, conversational style. In this straightforward account, the author picks and chooses her material from an impressive roster of major figures, including Julian Assange, Sean Spicer, Amy Schumer (who turned out to be the worst interviewee), Stormy Daniels (the best), and James Comey, who “reeked of establishment and quiet power.” McAlister was also able to get a rare interview with the daughter of Auschwitz commander Rudolf Höss, “one of the foremost mass murderers in history.” Throughout the text, the author shares tricks of the trade about producing short, intricately organized segments and reveals some of the resentments among the staff toward the presenters and their extravagance. The grotesque era of Donald Trump, she writes, was “an absolute boon for news,” and she was able to book interviews with many in his orbit. However, it was the sensational Prince Andrew interview, offered up blithely by the prince’s PR crew without any sense of legal implications, that put McAlister’s name on the map. She left the BBC shortly after the fallout, but her memories will appeal to anyone interested in the production of news programs and how big-name guests make it to the screen.

A seasoned journalist seizes her moment.

Kirkus Reviews